Hi everyone,

Well, we’re wrapping up for the term this week. School holidays begin on Friday.

Before we end we have Preserves Group on Tuesday afternoon and Alphington Arts on Thursday evening - it will be lovely to get together and create again. All welcome!

We also have our talk about Memory from Dementia Australia on Thursday at 1.30pm - if you are interested you can book in online (see the previous post for the link).

Term 4

We have some new things on the cards for Term 4, including another two daytime information presentations, these ones with a focus on ‘Money Matters’ in October (Seniors Month). Check out the post below for details.

And … Rosie is back with Community Yoga, starting on Wednesday 21 October - book in online.

We’re taking bookings for stalls at our Christmas Market coming up on Saturday 21 November. You can book your stall here. And save the date! it is always a lovely event, 11am-2pm - a great chance to shop locally and sustainably! Bring the kids for some Christmas craft, grab a sausage from our community BBQ etc.

Also this term we have another art event on - Alphington Open Studios will again run on the last two weekends in November - and we expect that we will have 4-5 artists here at ACC. We love being part of this artist community!

Ok, that’s about it I think, see you after the holidays.

Cheers Leanne

Darebin Falcons cricket club for girls, women and gender diverse people reached out to us this week with an invite to their Come and Try Day next Saturday the 19th of September… they are a great local club to get involved with for anyone interested in trying out cricket! Here is the information they sent us…..

🎉 Join the Darebin Falcons Girls, Women, and Gender Diverse Cricket Teams for the 2026/27 Season! 🏏

We're excited to invite girls of all ages to be a part of our growing cricket community at the Darebin Falcons! Whether you're new to the game or a seasoned player, we've got something for everyone. Modified rules and short games with a focus on participation and fun!  Here’s what’s happening at the club:

📅 Come and Try Day - 19 September
Curious about cricket? Join us for our Come and Try Day on Saturday, 19 September at Capp Reserve (Halwyn Street, Preston), starting at 10am. It’s a great opportunity to meet the team, have some fun, and see if cricket is the sport for you! 🏃‍♀️

📆 Season Start Dates
Mark your calendars! The season kicks off on Wednesday 14 October for Stage 1 (Under 12s), Stage 2 (Under 15s) and Stage 3 (Under 18s) Girls competition.

✨ Cricket Blast Program
For our younger players, we’re running the Cricket Blast program again this season! This skills-based program is perfect for Under 10s and is led by our wonderful volunteers.

📝 Expression of Interest
Ready to play? Fill out our Expression of Interest form to confirm your spot in the upcoming season. Whether you’re interested in competitive play or our Cricket Blast program, we’d love to hear from you!

26/27 Darebin Falcons Cricket Expression of Interest

We can’t wait to see you on the field! 🏏🎉

Last year (or was it the year before …) Thomas came along to Gardening Group with a fresh chilli, and asked Clare to teach him how to grow his own chilli plant from it. So Clare and Thomas started the process - drying the chilli pod, saving the seeds, planting the seeds, nurturing the seedlings … planting and growing the plants, harvesting the chillies, drying them … and saving the seeds … AND NOW … if you pop past our little seed library out the front you can pick up some of Thomas’s seeds to plant in your own garden! And Thomas is an expert in growing chilli plants.

Also … we’ve got some dried chillies (that we put in the dehydrator) in the kitchen for our community cooking too!

If you would like to learn more about the processes and practicalities of gardening and growing food at home, join Clare on Friday mornings in the garden from 10.30am-12pm … spring is a great time to get going so you have a wonderful summer vegetable garden to admire (and eat!).

This winter we’re partnering with Darebin Repair Cafe to once again run two of Gordon’s workshops here at ACC.

Always fabulous! On Saturday 13 June, come along and learn how to keep your sewing machine in tip top shape and identify and fix common problems that are caused by simple things like threading, bobbin choice etc. The workshop starts at 9.30am, the cost is $35 and you can book in here. You’ll come away with greater knowledge of your machine, a small kit for ongoing maintenance and a renewed passion for sewing (🧵 hopefully).

Then on Saturday 11 July, come learn the basics of overlocker maintenance. How to get your machine humming along and keep it that way! This will also be a 9.30 start with $35 tickets. You can book in at this link. And, helpfully, there will also be a small cleaning kit provided to take home afterwards.

We are really looking forward to our two upcoming sustainability workshops!

Living Soils, Living People

The first workshop is next week on Saturday the 16th of May from 10am - 12pm. In this workshop we will be learning about soils and their microbes and how they can affect our health - from plants to our guts to even our minds. We will get to look at live microbes under a microscope and make our own microbial inoculants to take home. Perfect for the many aspiring scientists and expert gardeners in our community!

To book into this workshop, please visit our website here.

Clothes Mending

The second workshop will be the following Saturday the 23rd of May from 10am - 1pm. This workshop will focus on techniques for mending clothes. We will be learning about hand sewing and repairing basic rips, holes and various imperfections. It’s a great way to reduce waste and get some extra life out of your favourite clothes!

To book into this workshop, please visit our website here.